(Football news) Benfica put their dismal domestic form to one side to advance behind Liverpool in their group in this competition, but they also pulled off a stunning comeback late in the section to secure a Europa League spot after a disastrous start to their Champions League campaign.
With their victory over Red Bull Salzburg on matchday six, Benfica began a run of 11 wins in 13 games. Since turning their Champions League campaign around late in the group stage, Benfica has not looked back.
Benfica appeared set to tumble out of Europe after losing all four of their opening games, but after an odd 3-3 draw with Inter Milan in which they wasted a three-goal lead, Roger Schmidt’s team went on the road in Austria to defeat Salzburg and move up to third place.
They have scored an amazing 35 goals in those 13 games, so clearly finding their shooting form has been a major contributor to their current success.
Schmidt’s team needed a late equalizer from Arthur Cabral to save a point, but one of the two mistakes occurred over the weekend when Benfica was held by a determined Vitoria Guimaraes team.
On a weekend where three of the top four dropped points though, Porto and Braga now look out of it, meaning it is set to be an all-Lisbon title race this season, with the two tied on 52 points.
Focus will be on Europe for now though, as Benfica return to the Europa League after back-to-back quarter-final exits from the Champions League.
The Portuguese side fell at the first knockout round in both 2019-20 and 2020-21, so there will be expectations of improving upon that this time around. Benfica reached the final in both 2013 and 2014, but lost both, leaving them on eight successive European finals without a win.
The visitors Toulouse, who have not improved much after ending 2023 with a 10-game domestic losing streak, cannot be claimed to be in as good of shape as the hosts.
Their only victories after October 1st came in this competition, where they finished second behind Liverpool. However, the holders of the Coupe de France are currently involved in a relegation struggle at home.
They have only won one of their previous 17 domestic home games, despite recent victories against Metz and Reims. This past weekend, they lost to fellow struggling team Nantes.
Toulouse had a notable victory over Liverpool at the Stade Municipal, but their performance did not translate to the continental arena as they finished the group with seven points out of a possible nine.
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